Grant Morrison Blasts LANTERNS Title Change and Damon Lindelof’s “Jockish Dismissal” of Green Lantern
When HBO dropped the first trailer for Lanterns earlier this month, the response from fans was… complicated. The show had already been described as something closer to True Detective than a cosmic superhero series, but the preview doubled down on that grounded tone.
Instead of alien worlds, glowing constructs, and space cops patrolling the galaxy, the footage focused on a very Earth-bound mystery starring Hal Jordan and John Stewart.
For some viewers, that creative shift raised eyebrows. Then an old quote from Damon Lindelof resurfaced and the situation escalated quickly.
The Watchmen showrunner had previously joked about the show’s title, explaining, “It's called Lanterns, because we all agreed that the 'Green' was stupid.”
That remark didn’t land well with longtime fans of the character, and now one of the most respected voices in comics has weighed in.
Grant Morrison, the acclaimed writer behind All-Star Superman, Batman, and Green Lantern, recently shared their thoughts on the controversy through Substack. Morrison didn’t mince words when addressing Lindelof’s take on the franchise.
“TV writer/producer Damon Lindelof’s comments notwithstanding, the 'Green' in 'Green Lantern(s)' green is not 'stupid'. Why does a writer attach himself to this kind of narrative if he thinks it’s fundamentally 'stupid'?
“You don’t hand CSI scripts to patronising writers who condemn forensics experts and their haircuts as 'stupid', so why hire people who are ashamed and in denial about the comic book material they’ve been assigned to develop? Why don’t they turn down jobs they’re not suited for?”
Morrison continued by questioning the mindset behind distancing a project from the very fans who care about it most.
“It’s not like he needs the money, and Lindelof has proven that he can come up with his own ideas. What is this jockish dismissal of superhero conventions intended to prove anyway? Does Lindelof imagine it makes him seem less nerdy?
“It’s a bit too late for that, so what’s it all about? The only people who give a [frick] about the Lanterns TV series are Green Lantern fans. Why alienate them at the start? That feels more like 'stupid'.”
They also took issue with dropping “Green” from the title altogether, arguing that the change strips away some of the mythology and drama tied to the property.
“'Green Lanterns' is a much more evocative and dramatic title than 'Lanterns', (just as 'Raise the Red Lantern' is a better movie title than 'Raise the Lantern'), and anyone who can’t grasp why that is shouldn’t be anywhere near superhero stories.
“The show might even be good, but how much better could this stuff be if studios were willing to hire the right people for the job instead of phoning their embarrassed friends to water the source material down? Hollywood will die of insularity and inbreeding.”
The situation is interesting because Lanterns was always positioned as a different kind of DC project. Tom King, whose comic book work on characters like Vision and Supergirl leaned into character-driven storytelling, is one of the writers on the show.
Pairing that with Lindelof, who earned critical acclaim for his Watchmen sequel series on HBO, suggested the studio wanted something tonally distinct from the typical superhero spectacle.
The series appears to center on a murder mystery involving Hal Jordan and John Stewart operating on Earth rather than across the galaxy. Fans expecting a heavy dose of Oa, space patrols, and massive green constructs didn’t see much of that in the footage.
Of course, that doesn’t mean those elements won’t appear later. It’s entirely possible the show builds toward the larger cosmic mythology as the story unfolds.
Even if Lanterns starts out stripped down, the DCU’s future plans could still bring the character closer to the classic version fans know. James Gunn is already building the larger universe, and Aaron Pierre is confirmed to appear as John Stewart in Man of Tomorrow.
If that film leans further into the traditional Green Lantern mythology, the HBO series could simply be the grounded introduction before things get more cosmic.
Meanwhile, there’s another DCU update floating around. The long-discussed Booster Gold series may have hit a snag. Writer David Jenkins recently deleted posts referencing the project and also stopped following Gunn on social media, which has sparked speculation that development might be starting over.
For now, though, the conversation around Lanterns isn’t slowing down. And if Morrison’s fiery response is any indication, the debate over how much a superhero adaptation should honor its comic book roots is still very much alive.